Explore Candelaria Ghost Town

The ghost town of Candelaria lies in rural Nevada, where desolate two-lane highways give way to even quieter roads of broken up pavement. Once a booming silver town, Candelaria's isolated location is somewhat to blame for it having become the empty unpopulated place it is today.

Originally settled by miners during the time of the Civil War, the boomtown became a thriving place of about 3000 people, eventually getting a railroad stop along the Carson and Colorado Railroad. At its peak, the town housed hotels, saloons, and a large stamp mill. However the town did not have a consistent supply of water, instead requiring its delivery from the nearest spring in an adjacent valley. As a result, the mill used a dry operating process that left a fine dust settling over the town and causing respiratory illness to miners and residents.

While the arrival of the railroad spur allowed water to be transported to the town by flat car, Candelaria stammered on before the population slowly dissipated. The town's post office closed in 1939, leaving it a ghost town.

Today, only a couple facades still stand, along with a couple small structures. The town's cemetery lies a short distance from the main stretch of town. A mining company owns the nearby land, and a large active pit and terraced mountainside sit immediately behind the last remaining relics of Candelaria. 

Reaching Candelaria requires a 6.3 mile drive down a roughly paved road from Highway 95 to the east, or a 6.5 mile drive down a graded dirt road that meets with Highway 360 at an unsigned shoulder to the west. 

There are no amenities of any kind located at Candelaria.